The Update with Brandon Julien

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

We've done a lot of episodes throughout our many years of #TheUpdate, but some of them are my personal favorites. Every month, we're going to go into The Update vault and play one episode from my personal list of favorite episodes. I hope you enjoy them as much as i did hosting it.

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

In this edition of The Update Journal, we solve three great holiday mysteries. First: yes, Freeform does exist on Spectrum — it’s just hiding like it’s in witness protection and apparently moved sometime during the Obama administration. We eventually found it, felt victorious for about six seconds, and immediately forgot the channel number again. Then, we take a moment of silence for the MetroCard. The little yellow-and-blue rectangle that survived decades of bent corners, demagnetized swipes, and frantic “why isn’t this working?” panic at the turnstile is officially on its way out. OMNY may be sleek and modern, but it will never understand the emotional bond between a New Yorker and a card that says “Insufficient Fare” in public. And finally, the holiday wish list from retail workers everywhere: not joy, not cheer, not another version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” — just silence. No screaming kids, no “can I speak to a manager,” and no customers discovering on December 23rd that stores close at a certain time on purpose. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, an NYPD officer shot and killed a boxcutter-wielding maniac in front of his parents after he charged at her, according to cops.A New Jersey police chief is facing domestic violence charges in Massachusetts after prosecutors accused him of assaulting a woman at a hotel earlier this year.And in Florida, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s decision to release just a fraction of the Jeffrey Epstein files by the congressionally mandated deadline as necessary to protect survivors of sexual abuse by the disgraced financier.

What started as a perfectly innocent trip down mid-2000s Nickelodeon memory lane somehow turned into a reminder of why my producers no longer trust me with Google. We revisit Danny Phantom, arguably one of the greatest eras of kids’ TV, and give Ember McLain the respect she deserves as an iconic, name-chanting, power-ballad-fueling villain who absolutely did not need to be searched with SafeSearch turned off. Also in this episode: confused producers, immediate browser-history deletion, and a brief lesson in what not to type into a work computer. And because it’s the end of a very long year, we close things out with The Last Word—finding gratitude, perspective, and maybe even a little peace after everything this year threw at us… including our own poor decision-making.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, one of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani ’s appointees has resigned over social media posts she made more than a decade ago that featured antisemitic tropes, Mamdani’s office said.New York City prosecutors asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.And in New Hampshire, A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended at a storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and then revealed he also was suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

Today, I attempt to understand Dandy’s World, a sentence I never thought I’d say out loud, and immediately regret every life choice that led me to that moment. While the kids confidently explain it like it’s common knowledge, the rest of us are left staring into the void, wondering when cartoons started feeling like a group chat we weren’t invited to. Meanwhile, adults across America have reached a rare moment of unity, agreeing that cash is not only an acceptable holiday gift—but the safest one. Because at this point, it’s easier to hand someone an envelope than pretend we know what they’re into, what size they are, or whether Dandy is a character, a lifestyle, or a legally binding contract.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, he’s letting Jesus take the wheel. Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s 16-year tenure as Archbishop of New York came to an end, with a bishop from Pope Leo XIV’s native Windy City set to assume the holy throne.New York is set to become the latest state to legalize medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill under a deal reached between the governor and state legislative leaders announced.And in Washington, President Trump delivered a politically charged speech carried live in prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats while announcing he is sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas.

This week in The Update Journal, I officially accepted that I am no longer the target demographic for… well, anything. First, we begin with kid trends—specifically Ice Spice, Big Guy, and a SpongeBob movie song that had an entire cafeteria dancing while I stood there wondering when exactly my youth filed a missing persons report. Then, part two of The Last Week Wait: a trip to Target for Bane’s supplies that should’ve taken five minutes, but instead featured lines so long they required emotional preparation, snacks, and possibly a camping permit. Faced with the choice between waiting or preserving my sanity, I chose neither—and simply walked out. And finally, Brandon’s Take: the cost of Christmas in 2025, where Santa is apparently charging surge pricing, gift-giving requires a small loan, and every receipt ends with me staring into the distance asking, “Was it always this expensive… or am I just awake now?”In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, authorities have asked the public for any footage they might have of the gunman who fatally shot two students and wounded nine others at Brown University, even as they released a new video timeline and a slightly clearer image of a possible suspect.An off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer fired his gun several times during a confrontation with another motorist on an access road for New York’s Kennedy Airport, police say.And in Brookline, Massachusetts, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot at his home near Boston, and authorities said they had launched a homicide investigation.

Today, we reopen the Home Alone case files and ask the hard-hitting questions Hollywood never wanted answered—like why Mr. and Mrs. MacAllister were allowed to keep custody after losing their child not once, but twice, across international borders. TSA? Fine. CPS? Nowhere to be found. Then, at the same time, a very modern mystery: why can I find 400 channels I’ve never heard of, three versions of the same cooking show, and a channel exclusively dedicated to reruns from 2009—but not Freeform, the network currently holding Christmas hostage. Apparently, in order to watch holiday movies in 2025, you must either subscribe to yet another streaming service or be born in 1996 with cable that still respected you. And in today’s Honorable Mention: flying cars are officially in production. Yes, the future has arrived. No, you cannot afford it. With a price tag soaring higher than the vehicle itself, the world’s first airborne automobile is here to solve traffic… for people who already don’t sit in it. For the rest of us, we’ll continue commuting the traditional way—on trains, in traffic, and in disbelief.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, a packed Bronx MTA bus slammed into several vehicles — injuring at least 7 people and sending passengers into a full-blown panic.UPS stole tens of millions of dollars in pay from seasonal workers who help the shipping giant deliver packages during the busy holiday season, forcing some to clock in well after their shifts started and deducting pay for lunch breaks they never took, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges in a lawsuit.And in Rhode Island, authorities knocked on doors and scoured yards in search of any video or other evidence that might lead them to the Brown University gunman, whose face was covered or not visible in footage captured before and after the weekend attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.

In this edition of The Update Journal, I issue what can generously be described as a retraction regarding the St. George Ferry route—though in reality, it’s less an apology and more an admission that I simply did not read the schedule. At all. Turns out the boat does go where it says it goes… when you look. Meanwhile, it’s the final week before Christmas, which means every Target, Five Below, and vaguely festive retail space has been transformed into a real-life obstacle course. Everyone has collectively decided now is the time to shop, creating a citywide panic fueled by procrastination, blinking lights, and people blocking aisles while “just browsing.” And finally, we ask the most important question of the season: how much would the 12 Days of Christmas actually cost today? Spoiler alert: the answer involves inflation, regret, and the realization that true love may need a payment plan.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, six teenagers were wounded in a mass shooting at a Brooklyn “Sweet 16” birthday bash– with a pair of gunmen still on the loose, according to police.A weekend storm sent temperatures plunging well below zero in the Midwest and dumped heavy snow on parts of the Northeast, creating many airport delays and slick roads as the Pacific Northwest braced for more rain after days of flooding and mudslides.And it was a day of crisis around the world:In Los Angeles, Director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were the two people found dead at a Los Angeles home owned by Reiner, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. Overseas, Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi beach, killing 15 people, including a child, officials said Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. The shooters were father and son. And In Rhode Island, a person of interest detained after a Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine will be released after law enforcement authorities determined there was no basis to keep the individual in custody.

Today’s Update Journal starts where all modern NYC problems begin: the turnstile. OMNY promised a sleek, futuristic transit experience, but forgot one crucial feature—the emotional honesty of the MetroCard telling you immediately that you’re broke. Now you tap, walk, and find out later via email that you owe the MTA fifteen cents and your dignity. Then we revisit Home Alone—the original film where a child commits multiple OSHA violations, violates every building code known to man, and somehow walks away while two grown adults absorb injuries that would end a Marvel movie. We’re talking head trauma, third-degree burns, and a staircase nail that would have most of us lying still, reevaluating every life choice. And finally, we slam on the brakes, turn down the chaos, and land somewhere warm. In The Last Word, we talk about what it really means to build Christmas traditions with someone you love—the quiet moments, the routines that sneak up on you, and how the smallest things end up meaning the most.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, a tourist was repeatedly stabbed by a crazed homeless woman inside Macy’s Herald Square amid the packed holiday shopping rush, according to cops and law enforcement sources.A grand jury declined for a second time in a week to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James in another major blow to the Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute the president’s political opponents.And in Pennsylvania, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from immigration detention on a judge’s order while he fights to stay in the U.S., handing a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

In today’s Update Journal, we unpack the 48-hour period where being a Mets fan felt like getting hit by a city bus, backed over by an MTA supervisor, and then charged an extra fare because you “didn’t tap.” Edwin Díaz packed his trumpets for Hollywood, Pete Alonso sailed off to Baltimore like he’s auditioning for a reboot of The Wire, and In-N-Out removed “67” from the menu for reasons no living human understands. Meanwhile, holiday shoppers continue their annual tradition of forgetting other people exist, walking through Target like NPCs trying to glitch through walls. Buckle up — it’s a wild one.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, Brad Lander, the chief fiscal officer of New York City, announced that he is challenging U.S. Rep Dan Goldman in a Democratic primary for a liberal district covering lower Manhattan and parts of brownstone Brooklyn.“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” actress who was struck and killed by a taxi while crossing a Midtown street was a Customs and Border Protection officer who had been looking forward to retiring — and was cherished for her warm greetings, her devastated neighbors say.And out in the American West, tens of thousands of residents in western Washington could face evacuation orders when another round of heavy rain drops on the region, threatening to bring catastrophic flooding as rivers near historic levels.

Today’s Update Journal is brought to you by the three stages of emotional processing: grief, disbelief, and nostalgic reflection. We begin with grief, as Edwin Díaz packs his trumpets and heads for Dodger Stadium—because apparently the winter meetings weren’t chaotic enough without Mets fans curled on the floor whispering “all good things must come to an end” like it’s Shakespeare in Queens. Then comes disbelief, as we reopen the case file on Home Alone 2 and ask the only question OSHA, the NYPD, and literally every medical professional should’ve asked in 1992: How are the Wet Bandits still alive? Four bricks. A nail gun. A two-story fall. At this point, Marv and Harry aren’t criminals—they’re immortal beings who accidentally wandered into a Christmas movie. And finally, reflection, as Brandon’s Take explores the gentle truth that Christmas traditions evolve as we grow… sometimes because life shifts, sometimes because the world changes… and sometimes because our backs hurt now.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, a massive blaze engulfed an Upper West Side apartment building— as raging flames and plumes of smoke poured from the roof and out of windows. Another round of bone-chilling air from the polar vortex could invade the central and northeastern US this weekend and potentially produce the first significant snowstorm of the season for the Interstate 95 corridor if this cold air meets up with moisture that is expected to race across the country.And rejoice, New Year’s dieters: Oreos are getting a sugar-free option. Mondelez said that Oreo Zero Sugar and Oreo Double Stuf Zero Sugar will go on sale in the U.S. in January. They’re a permanent addition to the company’s Oreo lineup.

In The Update Journal, we have brand-new recurring side-series: Great Ideas… On Paper, where we take a fond look back at brilliant concepts that absolutely should have worked — until reality showed up wearing sweatpants and holding a melted McFlurry. Today’s inaugural lesson: McDonald’s All-Day Breakfast. A concept so perfect, so universally beloved, that it crumbled the moment someone tried ordering an Egg McMuffin at 3:47 in the afternoon. And in today’s Honorable Mention: Millennials are gearing up to make more 2026 New Year’s resolutions than any other generation — because nothing says “I am holding my life together” like putting unrealistic expectations into a Notes app and then ignoring them until March. If everything sounds great… on paper, that’s because it is.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, the Archdiocese of New York announced it will set up a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who have sued the church.Bruce Blakeman, a Republican county official in Long Island, is expected to launch a campaign for New York governor on Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of his plans.And overseas, Japan was assessing damage and cautioning people of potential aftershocks after a late-night 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused injuries, light damage and a tsunami in Pacific coastal communities.

Welcome to December, where everything is changing whether we asked for it or not. The St. George ferry route is taking its final bow in the most New York fashion possible: quietly, awkwardly, and with at least one person yelling, “If it ain’t broke, WHY are we fixing it?” into the cold harbor wind. Meanwhile, inside the halls of government, we’re counting down two weeks until City Hall hands over the keys like a family passing the remote—reluctantly, nervously, and with at least three arguments about who messed everything up. And just when you think that’s enough chaos for one journal entry… enter Elf on the Shelf. The tiny-eyed holiday informant perched in your home, collecting intel like he’s auditioning for the North Pole branch of the FBI. Is he a family tradition? A federal agent? A freelancer? We investigate. (Not really. But we have questions.) So buckle up: ferries are disappearing, administrations are shifting, elves are surveilling, and we’re here to document the entire mess—because someone has to.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani posted a video to social media explaining immigrants’ right to refuse to speak to or comply with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, days after federal agents carried out a raid in Manhattan.A 68-year-old grandfather was mowed down by a wrong-way moped driver as he crossed at a Queens intersection — just days before he was to bring his daughter home for Christmas.And in Hawaii, survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor have long been the center of a remembrance ceremony held each year on the military base’s waterfront. But today only 12 are still alive — all centenarians — and this year none were able to make the pilgrimage to Hawaii to mark the event.

In today’s edition of The Update Journal, we proudly present the “Fare Inspector Era — Part 2,” because nothing says New York quite like a stranger in a reflective vest asking if you tapped your OMNY. Then, in The Last Word, your wallet delivers its annual holiday plea: “Stop. Please.” And finally, because we’re professionals who totally keep track of milestones, we’re celebrating the 1900th episode… a full day late. Look, between transit drama, holiday financial ruin, and remembering to eat lunch, something was bound to slip. But hey — 1900 episodes! We did it. Eventually.In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, two NYPD officers won’t be charged in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man during a mental health crisis last year as his mother and brother begged the officers not to open fire, state Attorney General Letitia James’ office said.Minutes after police approached Luigi Mangione in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, he told an officer he didn’t want to talk, according to video and testimony at a court hearing for the man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.And in Washington, the FBI arrested a man accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington on the eve of the U.S. Capitol attack, an abrupt breakthrough in an investigation that for years flummoxed law enforcement and spawned conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, 2021.